Site Archives consumer spending

Should Income Be “Disposable?”


One of the financial phrases that always irks me is “disposable income.” Disposable income is money that has no designated purpose and thus can be blown on anything you want. It’s money that is not “needed” to meet your obligations and thus can be spent on frivolous stuff. The word disposable brings to mind images [...]

Don’t Call Me a Consumer


I’m growing very tired of the word “consumer.” Every time I turn on the TV, the talking heads are discussing “the consumer.” Consumers aren’t spending as much, consumers are cutting back, consumers are hurting, consumers need to increase their spending to save the economy. It’s as though consumers are the only component of the economy. [...]